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A.I. is like the internet in 1987, pop star Will.i.am says

Pop star and entrepreneur Will.i.am has compared artificial intelligence (AI) to the rapidly developing internet of the 1980s.

"AI is like what the internet was in… 1987, but beyond," he told CNBC at the World Government Summit in Dubai. "So imagine what people thought the internet would be in 1987 to what it actually is today."

The internet and World Wide Web have become integral to the way we live today. For its part, AI — which is used in everything from autonomous cars and translation services to tailored recommendations on what to watch and buy — is slowly but surely becoming an increasingly important part of the modern world.

Will.i.am hailed the transformative nature of technology.

"No-one thought that Ubers would help solve, you know, social issues with cab drivers in New York not stopping for African-Americans," he said. "Well, Uber tells the world that that person is not African-American, that person is data, and you don't need… a security barrier because we're not going to exchange in cash."